The present invention is directed to a coffee system having a self-sealing coffee pot and a heating system.
A conventional coffee pot heating unit may include a pair of heating areas, such as warming plates, a heating coil associated with each heating area, and a brewing system associated with one or both of the heating areas. Each heating coil in such a conventional coffee pot heating unit is typically rated to generate 100 watts of electrical power. To generate such a power output when the heating unit is connected to a typical 120-volt AC power outlet, each heating coil is made to have an electrical resistance of about 140 ohms. Since a typical commercial coffee pot holds about 64 fluid ounces of coffee, such a conventional heating unit generates a power output of about 1.5 watts per fluid ounce of the coffee-holding capacity of the coffee pot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,269 to Stoner discloses a coffee maker that is designed to be used with a plastic coffee pot and a low temperature warming plate.